Schaefer raises $2.3 million in re-election bid Curran, Goldstein funds also in black

Shepards in debt

October 27, 1990|By John W. Frece and Ann LoLordo | John W. Frece and Ann LoLordo,Annapolis Bureau of The Sun

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. William Donald Schaefer reported yesterday that his re-election campaign has raised nearly $2.3 million, including almost $300,000 over the past eight weeks from a list of big-name contributors that includes bankers, developers and business executives from New York, Northern Virginia, Washington and throughout Maryland.

The incumbent Democrat and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg, raised nearly three times as much during the reporting period from Aug. 27 to Oct. 21 as the $106,719 his Republican opponents, William S. and Lois Shepard, have raised in total.

Mr. Schaefer's campaign reported $315,773 still in the bank, while Mr. Shepard's accounting showed $29,340 in unpaid bills, primarily a debt to the consultant who handled the Shepards' printing and direct mail effort.

The fund-raising pattern in the Schaefer-Shepard race dominated by the Democratic incumbent was repeated in the other two races for statewide office.

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. reported $351,769 in campaign receipts, and a cash balance of $43,037. His GOP opponent, Edward L. Blanton, showed $72,940 in contributions, but $46,000 of that was in the form of personal loans from Mr. Blanton and his family, and another $13,600 was an "in-kind" contribution from Mr. Blanton for campaign office space.

Mr. Curran's report showed that he has received $38,225 from political action committees, the largest of which was a $5,000 donation from Maryland lawyers through the Maryland Legal PAC.

Eight-term Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein reported $130,659 in total contributions and $37,131 still in the bank. His Republican opponent, Owings Mills accountant Larry M. Epstein, showed $23,725 in receipts, $1,087 in the bank and $2,359 in debts.

The thick Schaefer report showed long lists of $1,000 contributions, the maximum permissible for a single election, from fund-raisers attracting bankers and businessmen in New York City, Washington and around Maryland.

The governor's report showed that Mr. Schaefer also redistributed at least $99,315 to 38 candidates for office around the state, political slates or Democratic Party organizations, much of it just before the Sept. 11 party primaries. Among them were three recipients of $10,000 each: Washington County senatorial candidate Patricia Cushwa, Harford County Executive candidate Eileen M. Rehrmann and Allegany County Delegate Casper R. Taylor Jr.'s Committee for Western Maryland Leadership in Cumberland.

He was not the only politician giving away money. In this round of political donations, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke gave money to old friends, new friends and some forgotten friends.

RF Mr. Schmoke -- who does not run for re-election until next year --

distributed $15,800 to 14 candidates between Aug. 31 and yesterday, according to the mayor's most recent campaign finance report. That's in addition to the $46,120 he gave out in the early part of the summer, the majority of which went to state legislators from Cumberland to College Park who supported the city's legislative initiatives in Annapolis.

Now, as then, Mr. Schmoke favored longtime allies of the city. State Sen. Clarence W. Blount, one of Baltimore's most senior and powerful politicians in Annapolis, received an additional $5,000; he had previously received $6,000 from the mayor's campaign treasury.

Other old friends who benefited from the mayor's largess included: East Baltimore legislators, state Sen. Nathan C. Irby Jr. and Delegate Clarence Davis, who received $1,000 and $500, respectively.

After the primary, Mr. Schmoke gave $1,000 to Democrats who face Republican opposition in the general election: Montgomery County Delegates Patricia R. Sher and Mary Boerges, both of whom are seeking state Senate seats, Delegate Michael G. Gisriel, D-Baltimore County, and Sen. Philip C. Jimeno, D-Anne Arundel. Newcomers Janice Piccinini, a state Senate candidate in Baltimore County's 10th District, received $1,000, and Delores Kelley, a House of Delegates candidate in Northwest Baltimore's 42nd District, got $1,500. Mr. Curran, the attorney general, also received $500.

Mr. Schmoke, who has raised $770,375 so far, has $229,632 remaining in his treasury.